Sore coccyx

[PrettyBoyTim]

Near the end of last year I started getting a sore coccyx. I figured at the time that maybe I'd bruised it and a rest from the bike would do it good. When I stopped cycling anything over a mile or two the pain disappeared but today after going back to work it's hurting again.

The only thing I can think that I've changed recently is that I moved over to SPDs from toeclips. I do however keep the clips fairly loose. The annoying thing is that I can't remember when the pain started and if it happened to coincide with the move to SPDs or not...

Anyway - anyone had anything similar? I'm wondering if I should change the cleat positions on my shoes.

[PrettyBoyTim]

A bit of experimentation on my ride in today makes me think I'm sitting too far forward on my saddle...

[Sergeant Pluck]

I think you've drawn a blank, PBT! A rarity: even Tiger has failed to pop up with an offer to remove the offending part.

Have you had some kind of injury in the past, a childhood fall, or is this new?

If it persists you should probably give the cycling a rest to give things a chance to resolve. And if it still persists, get medical advice. 

No idea about saddle position, but I do know that an overly soft saddle will make it worse, as your sit bones will take less of the weight so that there is more pressure on the coccyx.

Sorry I can't advise - not my area  (groan)

[annie]

Is it related to cycling or something else you are doing?  Do you ride in quite an upright position, putting more weight on that particular area?

As Sergeant Pluck pointed out, soft saddles tend to shift the pressure, as you sit down on your sit bones the rest of the saddle is forced upwards.  What saddle do you use?

[PrettyBoyTim]

I've not changed my saddle at all in the last year and a half. It's the one that came with the bike and isn't particularly soft.

I wonder if it's due to slouching at my chair at work (although that's not changed recently either)

Anyway, I'm trying to alter the position I take on the saddle a bit to see if that helps. I also may try keeping my lower back straighter.

I guess the other thing that might help is to slow down for the huge numbers of speed humps I go over on my commute...

[hellymedic]

Keep your weight off your coccyx by building up your glutei.
Clench your buttocks together as hard as you can, 10 times a minute every half hour.
Get your weight off the saddle whenever you anticipate  hitting a bump in the road. Don't sit too still in the office.

[Tiger]

Hmm - PrettyBoy - reviewing your case I would suggest you might well be developing the intitial stages of a pilonidal duct. Caused by compression on the coccyx. These can be really quite nasty as reported elsewhere.  Essentially it is pressure on the hairs in teh cleft area resulting in an ingrowing action with subsequent infection and formation of an abcess.
Typically these feel like 'mild bruising' at the outset, and come and go for a while before really kicking off. When it goes to abscess surgery will be required and a long convalescence with daily wound packing. Trust me you don't want that.
The solution is to shave the area very carefully and thoroughly. This will be quite difficult on your own - best to get someone else to help.
It may well be that on close inspection some infection is found - in which case early lancing is indicated - usual business with a sterile scalpel etc. Again - not impossible with a mirror but probably best to get a chum involved.
Beware the GP as they will be up there like a shot with rubber gloves and tubes.

[PrettyBoyTim]

Crikey. I shall have to investigate the affected area.

[Tiger]

Did you find anything? Standing by to help...

[PrettyBoyTim]

Not found anything duct-like or any odd lumps or anything like that. I think it may be my position on the bike, possibly combined with the rather bumpy nature of my ride.

At the end of last week I bought a suspension seat post, which I quite like - it seems to take the edge off the bumps in the roads quite well. However, as well as that it has caused me to change the seat position. Because the seat post compresses a bit when you sit on it, I wasn't able to just exactly copy my position from the old seatpost. When I put the new one on I immediately realised that I'd managed to put the seat on too far back - I felt like I was stretching more than before, so I moved the seat forward a bit. I intend to keep playing with the position a bit to see if that can help.

Ideally I would have made the position changes separately from changing to a suspension seat post so that I could better tell what was making the difference, but as long as I'm able to stop the problem, I'll be happy.

[PrettyBoyTim]

Just to follow this up (in case anyone else gets similarly affected), the problem seemed to be caused by the seat being angled nose-down too much. Angling the nose up a bit seems to have fixed the problem.